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Thursday, 13 March 2014

Sepia Saturday: Underneath the Arches

Each week Sepia Saturday, provides an opportunity for genealogy bloggers to share their family history through photographs.

My first photographs matches this week's prompt of the Library of Congress so well. It too was taken in Washington DC, on a visit in 2000 - in the Rotunda of the Capitol.

President Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol on September 18, 1793.

Below - the Massachusetts State House in Boston, built in 1798 on land owned the John Hancock, the first elected governor of Massachusetts. The dome, originally made out of wood shingles, is now sheathed in copper and covered by 23 carat gold.

Much closer to my home - arches in the Scottish Borders

Leaderfoot Viaduct spans the 90 mile long River Tweed near its junction with one of its many tributaries - the Leader Water. The viaduct stands 116 feet above the river bed and each of its 19 arches has a 43 foot span. The railway bridge opened in 1865 with the last train running over it a hundred years later.

Jedburgh Abbey from the river 1798-99" by Thomas Girtin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jedburgh_Abbey

Jeburgh Abbey was one of four Border Abbeys established in the 12th century by King David 1 of Scotland. Lying only 10 miles
north of the Border, the abbey was repeatedly sacked by English forces,
most notably in 1544 when the Earl of Hertford's army raided the region
in what was known as the "Rough Wooing" - an attempt by Henry VIII to
enforce the marriage of the young Mary Queen of Scots to his son, the
future Edward VI. After the Protestant Reformation in 1560, the monks were allowed to stay, but the abbey was used for a long time as the parish kirk for the reformed religion until a new parish church was built in 1871.

Today - the arches of the ruined Abbey

Hundy Mundy - an 18th century Gothic folly at Mellerstain, near Kelso, built by William Adam, the famous architect who also designed Mellerstain House.

A peaceful view across to the Cheviot Hills in the distance on the Border.

I could not help but think of the 1932 song, made famous by Flanagan and Allan

"Underneath the arches
I dream my dreams away"

Click HERE to see other Sepia Saturday stories of domes, friezes, ceilings and arches.

20 comments:

What fun, and a great span of different arches! Viaduct somehow got stuck in my mind as having to carry water, but now I'm firmly resolved to understand it's the series of arches no matter what they carry, and railroads are just fine as viaducts too. Thanks! (Incidentally, I wonder if a single state capital in the US doesn't have a dome!)

Isn't the Leaderfoot Viaduct the 'Harry Potter' railroad, or is that another? I wonder how different history might have been, had Queen Mary married Henry the VIII's son, Edward VI. History is full of 'what if's'. What if the Russian Army had accepted Napoleon into its ranks? What if Hitler had been accepted to the art school he wanted to attendl? Kind of boggles the mind. Anyway, I enjoyed your informative post very much. :))

The viaduct looks rather delicate, but I'm sure in person it's much heftier.

I've seen that gold dome in Boston. To me, it's a big waste of gold. Atlanta has a dome like that, as does the capitol building in Charleston, West Virginia. West Virginia of all places! I guess the gold dome must stand for something - a sign of power and wealth?? Eh ~ beats me.

A good variety of arches and architecture. It was only last summer that I was introduced to the many abbey ruins in Britain. The engineering is very impressive for the era. There were some skilled craftsmen at work in those centuries.

Beautiful pictures of arches :) I notice you are planning on participating in the A to Z challenge too. I am preparing for my first challenge at the moment which is distracting me from other blog posts. regards Anne

About Me

I have been interested in family history for years. It all began when I was allowed as a child to look through the old family photographs and memorabilia kept in a shoebox in the cupboard at my grandfather's house. That treat started me on a fascinating ancestral trail.